Chapter 22

It was the beginning of December, which meant that the cold was slowly taking over and the weather had gotten less sunny. Though there wouldn't be snow. The first time Carter had ever witnessed snow was when he was in Minnesota. After he heard that his father got switched back to the office in Hayland, Carter knew that his last winter in Minnesota, would be his last time seeing snow in a very long time.

Instead of snow, there was rain. Most tourists visiting Port Hayland would say that it wasn't cold there at all during the winter, but for the inhabitants, the temperature during winter was considered cold for them.

As the water was falling from the heaven, hitting down on the pavements like a shower, Carter ran over the splashes and looked for shelter. It had started to come down while he was walking back home from the bus stop after school had ended. He eventually had to run into one of the shops he wa passing in order to keep himself from getting completely soaked. He had gotten soaked too many times already within two months. Though he wasn't complaining the last two times it happened. He ran a hand through his wet hair and was glad that only his shoulders had gotten wet. Carter looked around in the shop he had ran into and then noticed that it was the glass work shop he once bought a glass butterfly for Josh from. It hadn't changed at all, apart from some of the merchandise, of course. He walked around and looked at all the glass figurines displayed on the shelves. They all sparkled in the light of the lamps on the ceilings and Carter thought they all looked beautiful.

"Good afternoon," he then heard. He looked up to see that it was the shopkeeper who had greeted him. As Carter looked, he saw that it was Paul Richerson, the same shopkeeper from before Carter had moved away. He looked up at the man, who was standing behind the counter, and noticed that his brown hair was starting to get grey at the roots of his hairline. "Wait a minute..." he proceeded to speak. "...Is that you, Carter?"

"In the flesh," Carter smiled, glad that he was still recognizable after five years.

"My God, you had moved away, right? I didn't know you were back!" Paul said and pushed off the counter to walk closer to the boy. "My God, you've grown!"

"I didn't think you'd still work here, honestly, but I'm glad you still do," Carter said. He had always liked Paul. Before he moved away, he'd always greet him when he walked back from school, and he had even given him discount when he had bought the glass butterfly for Josh. Speaking about the butterfly, he wondered if Josh still had it.

"Does Stacey still work here?" Carter asked. Stacey was Paul's assistant before he had moved away, and he remembered how she always messed up the receipts and sometimes broke one of the glass figurines by accidentally dropping it when placing it on the shelve. Carter had always known that she most likely wouldn't have worked there for a long time.

"No, Stacey found another job that suited her better two years ago. I don't get that many customers so I can manage on my own, though a new assistant would come in handy. I'm not as young as I used to be and my eyesight has is getting worse and worse by the year it seems," Paul answered, looking at one of the glass figurines.

Carter looked around a bit. The shop's interior hadn't changed from what he could remember. It was a shame that Stacy had found another job, though. She had always been nice to him and she kept the shop lively. He then turned back to paul and chewed the inside of this cheek. 'You know..." he said, "I'm kind of looking for a part-time job," he said. This was a fact; Carter had figured it was about time to find a job here. He used to work in a supermarket back in Minnesota, though he'd like to try something else out as well. Plus, he knew Paul well so he'd be on good terms with his boss.

"You'd like to work here?" Paul asked, blinking at the younger boy. "Well, if you're sure then of course I'd love to hire you. I can't promise that it will pay well, but I could use all the help I can get," he said.

"I'd honestly like to think about it for a bit, but working here does seem nice. But I don't want to rush into the first opportunity I get," Carter said, and looked outside the window to see if the rain had calmed down. Which was luckily the case.

"Of course, of course! You can think about it," Paul said and gave him a warm smile. "You're more than welcome to let me know when you figured out. We could catch up a little, in that case. You know, I still saw Joshua everyday after you left. Though he seemed so down the first year."

Carter looked up when Josh was mentioned. He also passed this shop on his way to the bus stop, of course. Paul had seen him grow up, even in the brief images of him passing by. He gave him a smile before his eyes traveled to one of the glass figurines. A ladybug. "Thanks," he said. "I'll really think about it," he said, giving another glance outside to see if he could already go out. It was now merely drizzling and Carter figured he'd best go out now before another downpour would come. "But, I gotta go now. I don't want to get a natural shower again," Carter told Paul. "But it was great seeing you again. I'll stop by soon again," he said before walking to the entrance.

"Alright, kid. I'll see you around. Give Joshua my regards if you see him."

"Will do!" Carter rushed back over the pavements to get home, thinking about stopping by Josh's house after the weather cleared up.

And he had to study a little for the upcoming exams, of course. Though he now only had to find the motivation and concentration to do so. Which was going to be a hard and difficult task.

+++

Carter stared outside his window, watching the sun peek through the grey clouds as they drifted away, having left drenched streets and several puddles behind. He tapped the back of his pencil onto his notebook where he had just written his history notes on. He liked the subjects he had, except for Maths, but studying was always such a pain. In cases like these, he wished he had Josh's brains, so he'd like studying and would be good at it as well. Though he hadn't, and he'd just have to do with his own lazy ones. He chewed on the end of his pencil as he looked outside his bedroom window, watching the sea from afar. From here, he could also see the canvasses of the boats tied to the docks. It was thursday so he knew Josh was staying at his boat. He hadn't visited him since that night on Halloween, which was more than a month ago.

Deciding that it had been way too long, he pushed off his desk and grabbed his jacket before going downstairs. He had studied enough, he thought to himself.

Both his parents were still at work so he wouldn't be missed anyway. He wanted to spend some more time with, and maybe continue where they had left off the other night. Carter rolled his eyes at his own horny thoughts and made his way down the hill towards Josh's boat. He inhaled the smell of the streets after rain as he walked closer to the shore. Despite the sun coming through, it was still chilly and Carter zipped his jacket up to his nape.

When he finally reached the docs, he saw Josh's sailboat peacefully floating on the water, bouncing up and down ever so slightly with the waves of the sea.

As Carter thought of seeing Josh again, he also began to wonder what they were, or what he was to him. He knew about his feelings, and Josh knew about Carter's, and they had slept with each other upon finding out. Did that mean they were together? Carter was somewhat eager to know. He wanted to be together with him more than anything in the world. And now that Josh had finally given into his feelings, that could become reality.

He stepped onto the boat and walked over to the hatch door before knocking on it. He heard a few, low voices coming from the boat before the hatch was opened and Josh's head appeared. His eyes widened upon meeting with the brunette's.

"Carter...?!" he said, and Carter was surprised by the shock that hinted his voice.

"Hey," Carter said, "I thought I'd stop by. Am I interrupting you?"

Josh gave a quick glance back inside the boat before he climbed up. Carter thought for a moment that he was going to kiss him when his hands reached out to him, but instead, he was pushed back. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance and looked up at Josh in surprise.

"Josh? What the hell?"

"Go away, Carter," Josh said. Carter heard the anger in his voice and it surprised him even more. "I don't want you here."

"Josh, what are you doing?" Carter asked with furrowed brows. He stepped closer to him and tried to touch him but his hands were pushed away.

"Leave! Just leave me alone, okay?" Josh, eyes briefly averting to the hatch before he looked back at the other male. "I don't want you to be here. Not ever again. So go away, now."

Carter couldn't believe the words that came out of the blond's mouth. He shook his head, not understanding what was going on all of a sudden. They were so close not days ago, and now it suddenly seemed as if he had done something horrible to him. "Josh, I don't understand-"

"There is nothing to understand, okay?!" Josh nearly yelled. "I don't want to see your face again. Leave, or I'll make you leave!"

Josh's face was angry, but at the same time it wasn't. It appeared to be more desperate than anything, and Carter couldn't understand what was going on. He slowly stepped away and climbed back onto the docks and off the boat, watching Josh's face as he stood there. The blond then turned around and climbed back inside the boat, closing the hatch with a slam, leaving Carter behind in confusion.